CARTER WARNS RUSSIA OVER NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Defense Secretary Ash Carter laid down the law today, saying if Russian President Vladimir Putin continues violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the United States will respond.

“Russia’s continued disregard for its international obligations and lack of meaningful engagement on this particular issue require the United States to take actions to protect its interests and security as well as those of its allies and partners,” Carter said. “U.S. efforts should continue to remind Russia why the United States and Russia signed this treaty in the first place and be designed to bring Russia back into verified compliance with its obligations.”

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According to Pro Defense’s Philip Ewing, Russian leaders may feel that the U.S. and Europe have already violated the terms of the treaty, specifically noting a U.S.-backed program in Romania designed to provide missile defense.

POLL: PUBLIC SUPPORTS OBAMA’S TAX PLAN: President Barack Obama’s plan to raise capital gains taxes on wealthy families seems to be winning in the court of public opinion.

Fifty-six percent of people surveyed in the Associated Press-GfK poll said they would favor increasing the capital gains tax on stocks owned by households that make more than $500,000 annually. And 68 percent said wealthy households pay “too little” in federal taxes, and 60 percent of middle-class households said they pay too much in taxes. Nearly half of all respondents were also in favor of a fee against financial institutions and banks with assets exceeding $50 billion. http://politi.co/1JCH2bZ

CRUZ CRUISES PAST PERRY IN TEXAS POLL: Sen. Ted Cruz leads the field of potential Republican presidential nominees in Texas. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll released today shows 20 percent of those surveyed chose Cruz, while 19 percent chose Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Dr. Ben Carson followed with 9 percent. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry rounded out the top five with 8 percent.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was at 62 percent, 50 percentage points ahead of second-place Elizabeth Warren, who has repeatedly said she will not seek the nomination. More from POLITICO’s Nick Gass: http://politi.co/1FPBVCw

BAD BUDGETS HURT 2016 HOPEFULS: Caught between balancing state budgets and possibly raising taxes, several Republican governors are finding out why 2016 may be “an awfully tough time to be a governor and run for president.” Campaign Pro’s James Hohmann with more: http://politico.pro/1GlMudT

TOMORROW: GOP SENDS THEIR KEYSTONE BILL TO W.H.: Republicans have been putting off the formal transmission of their bill to the White House — and its all-but-certain presidential veto. Sen. John Hoeven seems to be more optimistic than we are: His statement holds out hope President Barack Obama will change his mind. http://politico.pro/1GlFRs6

ICYMI: GOVERNORS SHRUG OFF OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES CASE: The Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a case that could cut affordable Obamacare coverage from 7 million Americans. SCOTUS will likely decide on King v. Burwell in late June. The response from the nation’s governors? Shrugs.

“No one can foretell how the court will rule on its second major case that could strike at the heart of the president’s signature health law,” and state executives from both parties are indifferent or unsure about how to proceed, the Pro Health Care team of Kyle Cheney, Sarah Wheaton and Rachana Pradhan write.

POLITICO interviewed more than a dozen governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting over the weekend. Some Republican governors said the onus falls on the president and Congress, or good riddance if Obamacare falls apart. Others are coming calling for a short-term fix and contingency plans. Meanwhile, Democratic governors are considering building their own exchanges or even changing designations to “state-run” exchanges.

— HATCH FOCUSES ON SHORT-TERM FIX: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said today that he’ll soon release details on a short-term solution that “would protect subsidies for people in the 34 states that would be affected,” reports Erin Mershon for Pro Health Care. Hatch is hoping to persuade Republicans to support a limited extension of the subsidies if the ruling goes against the administration: http://politico.pro/1ACTRf5

TODAY’S POLICY NEWS:

REPORT: MEDICAL ID THEFT DOUBLED IN FIVE YEARS: Instances of medical identity theft have doubled in the past five years and can be linked to the growing use of digital health records, according to a report released today.

Nearly 500,000 people in 2014 were victims of medical identity theft, costing them over $20 billion. The rise in the crime shows “no signs of slowing,” said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, which released the report. Pro eHealth’s David Pittman has more: http://politico.pro/1w3ZTBi

DATA SHOW LOPSIDED USE OF SCHOOL SUSPENSION: More than half of male black students in middle and high schools were kicked out of school at least once in a school year in some districts around St. Louis, Mo, a report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the University of Los Angeles, California, shows. Similar racial disparities in school discipline were found in schools throughout the country.

“In total, 3.5 million students were suspended from school at least once during the 2011-2012 school years, the researchers found. Black males and females and Latino males had the highest rates of suspension,” Pro Education’s Caitlin Emma writes.

“The analysis concluded that nationwide, an average of nearly 8 percent of black elementary school students and 23 percent of black middle and high school students were suspended during the 2011-12 school year, compared to 1.5 percent of white elementary students and about 7 percent of white secondary students.” http://politico.pro/1FkLhTd

DOJ: U.S. A LEADER IN TRANSPARENCY ABOUT SURVEILLANCE: Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said today that the U.S. owns up to what every country is doing in terms of bulk data collection. In response to a question at a cybersecurity conference held by the New America Foundation about whether the U.S. will stop the practice in Europe, as EU privacy authorities demand, Carlin said no other country is as transparent in collecting intelligence.

“There isn’t another country in the world that I think has as robust and transparent an approach to the collection of intelligence, but I guarantee you that they are collecting intelligence,” he said. http://politico.pro/1B61BIc

— U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will host European Union ambassadors in D.C.

— Secretary of State John Kerry will testify at a 10 a.m. hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.

— Also at 10 a.m., Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to testify at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, which will focus on “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.”

— At 3:30 p.m., Vice President Joe Biden will deliver remarks at the 2015 Winter Meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.

SPEED READ:

— The Associated Press reports that the U.S. has named Randy Berry as its first international envoy for LGBT rights: http://bit.ly/1zaXd5h

— With the equal wage debate in the spotlight after last night’s Oscars, The Boston Globe follows up on a bill filed in Massachusetts that would prohibit employers from looking into job candidates’ past salaries: http://bit.ly/1BHBjgT

— CIA Director John Brennan plans to expand the agency’s cyber espionage capabilities, according to The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/18gcNHw

— A Manhattan court has awarded $218.5 million in a terrorism case that ends a decadelong battle to hold the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization legally responsible for six terror attacks in Israel. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1a6CDhL